Industries dump toxic effluents into Gujarat rivers, why should taxpayers pay for clean-up?

Widespread concern over industrial pollution choking Gujarat’s rivers has not stopped hazardous chemical-laced effluents from being discharged unchecked into water bodies, damaging not only fertile agricultural land but also contaminating groundwater across regions.

In an attempt to address the growing crisis, the Gujarat government has approved a Deep Sea Effluent Disposal (DSED) project, under which polluted industrial wastewater will be diverted and discharged into the sea. However, the state’s decision to bear a major portion of the project cost has triggered strong opposition from environmentalists.

Who pays?

Under the approved plan, the state government has expressed its readiness to shoulder up to 80% of the project cost for Jetpur, while Ahmedabad and Vadodara will receive around 70% funding support. Environmental activists argue that this effectively shifts the financial burden from polluting industries to taxpayers.

Noted environmentalist Mahesh Pandya has questioned the rationale behind public funding for a project necessitated by industrial pollution.

Aversion from ‘Polluter Pays’

“India follows the ‘Polluter Pays’ principle. The National Green Tribunal has repeatedly ruled that industries responsible for pollution must bear the cost of remediation. The question is why the government is now showing undue sympathy towards polluting industries,” Pandya said.

He added that industries continue to pollute, citizens suffer the consequences, and now even the disposal of toxic waste is proposed to be funded using public money. “Why should taxpayers pay for the cleanup of industrial pollution? The entire cost of dumping polluted effluents into the deep sea should be recovered from the industries responsible,” he asserted.

Environmentalists warn that unless accountability is enforced and polluters are made to pay, the problem will merely be shifted from rivers to the sea, without addressing the root cause of unchecked industrial pollution.